Doom 32X Resurrection

[Rick Dangerous]

I am playing through this one level every couple of days; trying to savor it like a fine wine.  I really don't want it to end! 

 

Doom II PLZ....... ?

[Skippy B. Coyote]

On 12/15/2021 at 3:42 PM, Skippy B. Coyote said:

Very cool project and I definitely appreciate all the enhancements, but it's got major stability issues on real hardware. On my Genesis Model 2 Rev VA4 + 32X + Mega EverDrive Pro setup I can rarely get through a level without the sound glitching out followed shortly by the game crashing and freezing. Maybe one in five times I can actually get through a level without a crash. Which is a real bummer because this enhancement is amazing in all other regards!

 

Having finally gotten a Genesis Model 1 to 32X stereo adapter cable from Retro Gaming Cables UK in the mail today I can confirm that Doom 32X Resurrection plays absolutely perfectly on my Genesis Model 1 VA6 + 32X + Mega EverDrive Pro combo with no problems at all! I still have no idea why it bugs out and crashes on the Genesis Model 2 VA4, but I definitely take back what I said earlier about it being buggy. It plays flawlessly on my Model 1 and is just an all around amazing port, so great job guys! I'm just gonna chalk the previous troubles up to Genesis 2 VA4 specific weirdness, since this wouldn't be the first game to have issues on the VA4 

 

[Barone]

8 hours ago, Skippy B. Coyote said:

 

Having finally gotten a Genesis Model 1 to 32X stereo adapter cable from Retro Gaming Cables UK in the mail today I can confirm that Doom 32X Resurrection plays absolutely perfectly on my Genesis Model 1 VA6 + 32X + Mega EverDrive Pro combo with no problems at all! I still have no idea why it bugs out and crashes on the Genesis Model 2 VA4, but I definitely take back what I said earlier about it being buggy. It plays flawlessly on my Model 1 and is just an all around amazing port, so great job guys! I'm just gonna chalk the previous troubles up to Genesis 2 VA4 specific weirdness, since this wouldn't be the first game to have issues on the VA4 

 

Thanks a lot for the update and I'm happy that you're able to enjoy it now.
Stay tuned, there's more to come.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Barone

[Chilly Willy]

The 32X field manual talks about MD motherboards that need the EDCLK capacitors clipped to get a clean EDCLK for the 32X to be stable. It's one of the most frequent things Sega repair facilities did for people who had trouble with their 32X. It's possible your Model 2 VA4 was one of those. Good to hear your Model 1 is working fine. I have no idea what revision my Model 2 is... I bought it in 1992 along with a Sega CD Model 2. It works great with the 32X - well, other than the standard Model 2 shitty sound. One of these days, I'll make Tiido's CCAM for my Model 2 and get some decent audio out of it.

[Austin]

I am curious if the VA4 models can have freezing issues like VA0 Genesis 2 systems. That's what the "Extension Unit" that comes with the 32X is for. Plug it into the expansion port (or plug in a Sega CD) and the unstable behavior goes away.

[Barone]

https://twitter.com/vluchitz/status/1521239809947275270
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/6269/

Changes in v2.0:
- Network support via the Zero Tolerance (aka Technopop) link cable.
- Fullscreen 320×184px graphics mode.
- A refined palette / colourmap has been added for improved visual fidelity, aka “high colour” mode.
- Controller hot plugging support.
- Anamorphic widescreen support for 16:9 screens.
- 32X+ (CDDA tracks from CUE files) support has been added and is enabled when the MegaSD flash cart is detected.
- Upon completing the game, the song “The End of DOOM” is now played during the final message.
- The colormap now inverts during invulnerability to closer match the original DOS port of the game.
- The AutoMap now has smooth scaling.
- The maximum number of sound channels in the mixer has been increased from 4 to 8.
- Monsters in neighboring sectors are now more likely to wake up when a player fires a weapon.
- Sector lighting now defaults to high detail mode.
- Imps and Cacodemons now have slower projectile speeds.
- Doom 2 map specials are now supported.
- Improved multi-threaded rendering of sprites.
- The map title and stats are now displayed in the automap.
- When possessing the sphere of invulnerability, the god mode face is now shown in the status bar.
- The game can no longer be paused during multiplayer.
- You can no longer attack, strafe or use things when in the automap.
- The Spectre is now featured in the final cast sequence.

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Barone

[Barone]

Captured with my cellphone, so, lots of screen-tearing.

Edited May 3, 2022 by Barone

[JFD62780]

Well!

 

I may have learned of this huge enhancement of the original 32X release in the heavily grey-area r/roms.  But a couple days ago, I heard of the 2.0 release from this thread.

 

Its drool-worthy 320×184 High Color mode might have outdone the Jag version on its own, putting the 'high definition' back into the Genesis 32X's reputation!

 

There's also the beefed-up PWM mixer with double the channels of sound effects, as well as multiplayer via link cable (which I'm not prepared for.  I only have one Genesis with 32X after all, and it's in garage storage...).

 

Congratulations on getting me to start playing again, even if it's via Fusion! :D

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Yes this is easily the most impressive console release of the game I've ever played. It might not play as fast as it does on my modern PC through Dosbox and certainly doesn't have the graphical flare of the newer builds that play in GZDoom and the like but it is a LOT of fun to play. I also like playing it to see how changed the levels are from what I'm so familiar with on the PC version. 

 

[Chilly Willy]

The improved color was mainly because most people described the graphics as "muddy" and "dark". And it could be, especially on TV sets. So a few improvements were made to make that less of an issue. I will admit I like the new color scheme better. I was one of those who thought it dark and muddy.

 

Barone and I did a lot of testing on multi-player via link cable. I did most of the hardware coding on that, with Barone and Vic keeping me working on bugs, like when my code would crash the game when the other system wasn't running... I hadn't even thought about the fact that most people were playing on a standalone system. I had two connected together, why wouldn't everyone? ?  And ask Barone about the noise when the two systems' soundtrack got out of sync. In multi-player link mode, one of the console would often have its music slow down for then unknown reasons. Took me a while to find that one. ?

 

Meanwhile, Vic just kept adding improvements to everything else in the background. Much of the v2.0 changelog made it into the feature list for the game. So many improvements just cried out for a major version bump. This wasn't 1.6, it was 2.0!

[Barone]

Quote

And ask Barone about the noise when the two systems' soundtrack got out of sync.

Lol, yeah, after this version my neighbors are sure I'm totally nuts. Especially 'cause I did a lot of stress testing of the network code using the DIS map; monster grunts all the time and high-pitched crazy noises on bugs.
I have a lot more respect for the buggy network code of the Jaguar version now, despite it having no music. Shit isn't easy at all to test and debug. 
I can only wonder the depressing and trippy thoughts you went through in order to fix all that stuff.
A simple task like making my own link cable was a bit of a pain due to how poorly built are todays controllers' cables and cable extensions; it only worked after I used official Sega 3-button controller cables, from then on the soldering was easy as it should. 

There was also a lot of discussion and screenshots comparison on the color-related things before that. Polonium ended up reworking the red brick texture (thank God) and it made a ton of difference too; it was our Achilles' heel visually IMO up until (and including) v1.5. What was made for the PC didn't really fit the consoles in some aspects, including palettes; what was made for the Jaguar doesn't really makes the best use of the other consoles' palettes, etc. 
The new color scheme was a product of those *weeks* of trial and error; Vic did a LOT of research/testing/coding until he could find something that represented, in the team's opinion, a global gain and still polished/adjusted it quite a bit. The "high color" scheme looks fucking awesome on a CRT, that much I can assure you. I have 4 or 5 different CRT TVs here I have babysat for 10+ years; few games look as good as this D32XR v2.0 look on them. 
The 320px res mode is something Vic pulled out of his magic hat out of nowhere as far as I'm concerned; like a lot of the stuff in this project. I hope I never have to compete on anything with him, hahahaha, I'd be screwed. Not only is the guy brilliant, he's extremely consistent at that.

I clearly remember we worked on Christmas day pretty much the entire day (I think the focus maybe was the MegaSD/32X+ support). 
Due to time zone differences and our daily jobs, dozens of the days I started checking stuff and communicating with him at around 6 a.m. my local time. Vic, OTOH, worked until very late on coding, algorithm analysis, debugging; many, many days; almost every day. And that's just since I've been there; he, Chilly and other members of the team had worked intensely for several months previous to my time there. Wavy checks map-related stuff upon request almost immediately, it's amazing.

And this is on top of Chilly's 32X tech research, demos and tools; Vic's and Chilly's many years of development knowledge, Doom knowledge, FPS game engines development experience; source ports from other incredible people, reverse engineering, etc.
I'm sure my contribution isn't much when compared to the whole thing and how much Vic put into it, but I gave what I had/could give and I think the others did the same. It's great fun and I feel like I've learned a lot about a bunch of cool stuff just by being around these amazing people.
And Vic has put his soul into it since day 1, when people like me thought he was completely out of his mind. Much respect and my sincere apologies. 

My personal joy is to see comments of people enjoying the game; both because it's cool in itself and also 'cause I know this makes Vic and Chilly really happy.
The 32X can be an amazing source of joy and entertainment, like they both always said and envisioned despite all the criticism and stacked odds against their brilliant ideas. 
 

Edited May 6, 2022 by Barone

[Keatah]

Pretty sure this is among the better console versions of Doom. Pleasantly surprised at the speed. Of course nothing compares against the full-blown PC experience. But for a console, not bad, not bad at all.

 

[Chilly Willy]

I bought my link cable from Tototek many years ago. This was my first time using it in a real setting. It was a real experience.

 

I'd worked on light gun support for SGDK, so I had experience using the external interrupt (both light guns and the link cable rely on the controller's ability to interrupt the 68000 using the TH line of the controller). Now there's a thought - light gun support for Doom. ?

 

You can always learn new things. I learned quite a bit myself while working on D32XR. I really need to make an update on my tools and some demos to get the latest core 32X support code out. Right now, I point people to the D32XR repo for the latest 32X code. I also really need to update Wolf32X some time.

[Tanooki]

This new update 2.0 is nuts, SegalordX on youtube just put out a comparison of 1 to 2 and 2 to original and it's crazy.  It's shameful to think Sega/Williams rushed it so hard back then when more easily could have been done given just a little more time and budget.... budget, guarantee you it was that.

 

Midway(Williams) I can personally relate to the budget side of the story having worked there, they were corner cutting cheapskates.  Doom 32X wasn't the only one they fouled up, but also the SNES version of Doom.

 

SNES Doom could have easily done more as the engine and hardware with FX2 was capable of it, but they cut corners for time and money and semi-ruined it, despite the fact for years it was the most accurate to the original stage layout wise which is just terrible.

 

The SNES Doom engine has stuff in place in the code that MVG on youtube has explored as have others.  The engine could have had more monster angle views, more detail on the floor/ceiling, could have fit monsters attacking each other, could have had minimally a password but easily a battery save, even had a title splash screen it lacks too.  It came down to Midway being cheap as hell, end of story.

 

I would love to no end seeing that team if they know it, or another, to crack open that SNES Doom game and give it the resurrection treatment.

 

It could have been with a 1 size larger storage chip, and a battery added on, allowed for a much more authentic version of the game.  No it would not have largely run at a much nicer frame rate, optimization could have helped a tad, or evened it back down to where it is now with more going on, but that would have been something.  Imagine had they been given a few more months and proper budgeting for the chip+battery.  SNES Doom having those things I mentioned, saving it even does, if you have the x-band adapter/service largely no one bought.

[Austin]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:31 AM, Tanooki said:

SNES Doom could have easily done more as the engine and hardware with FX2 was capable of it, but they cut corners for time and money and semi-ruined it, despite the fact for years it was the most accurate to the original stage layout wise which is just terrible.

 

The SNES Doom engine has stuff in place in the code that MVG on youtube has explored as have others.  The engine could have had more monster angle views, more detail on the floor/ceiling, could have fit monsters attacking each other, could have had minimally a password but easily a battery save, even had a title splash screen it lacks too.  It came down to Midway being cheap as hell, end of story.

 

I would love to no end seeing that team if they know it, or another, to crack open that SNES Doom game and give it the resurrection treatment.

 

It could have been with a 1 size larger storage chip, and a battery added on, allowed for a much more authentic version of the game.  No it would not have largely run at a much nicer frame rate, optimization could have helped a tad, or evened it back down to where it is now with more going on, but that would have been something.  Imagine had they been given a few more months and proper budgeting for the chip+battery.  SNES Doom having those things I mentioned, saving it even does, if you have the x-band adapter/service largely no one bought.

Dude, it'd be great if you could talk out of your ass a little less. I feel like I lose brain cells every time I read one of your ranty, highly speculative posts.

 

From the DOOM Wiki:

 

"Randy Linden, the port's sole programmer, initiated the port of Doom for the Super NES on his own initially, as he was fascinated by the game. Since Doom's source code was not yet released at the time, Linden referred to the Unofficial Doom Specs as a means of understanding the game's lump layout in detail. The resources were extracted from the IWAD, with some (notably sprites such as the player's sprites and the original status bar face sprites) unused due to technical limitations.

 

According to an interview, due to lack of development systems for the Super FX, Linden wrote a set of tools consisting of an assembler, linker, debugger, dubbed the ACCESS, on his own Amiga before beginning development of the port proper. For the hardware kit, he utilized a hacked Star Fox cartridge and a pair of modified Super NES controllers plugged into the console and connected to the Amiga's parallel port. A serial protocol was used to further link the two devices.

 

After developing a full prototype, he later showcased it to his employer, Sculptured Software, which helped him finish the development. In the interview, Linden expressed a wish that he could have added the missing levels; however, the game, already the largest possible size for a Super FX 2 game at 16 megabits, only has roughly 16 bytes of free space.

 

According to John Romero, the Super Nintendo port of Doom was developed secretly by Sculptured Software and then brought to id fully complete in order to request permission for it to be published. Romero states that id's response was, "Oh hell yeah!" The involvement of Williams in its publishing would later lead to that company also handling ports to the PlayStation and Nintendo 64."

[Asaki]

So when is this getting ported to the Sega CD? B)

 

On 5/7/2022 at 9:05 PM, Chilly Willy said:

Now there's a thought - light gun support for Doom. ?

 

Ha ha ha, nice.

[Barone]

Doom 32X Resurrection v2.1 was released today:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/6269/
v2.1 Changelog:

⦁ Fixed regressions:
- SegaCD audio support didn’t work
- Random ‘R_FlatNumForName: not found’ error in 320px mode
- Glowing lights were broken
- Gradient lighting on floors and ceilings was broken
- Sprites would sometimes partially or completely disappear in 320px mode

⦁ Fixed an old Jaguar Doom bug related to item collection, where if the player was touching multiple items simultaneously, neither item would be picked up if at least one of them was maxed out in inventory
⦁ Fixed bug where sprites would sometimes become visible through walls depending on the sector’s relative floor height
⦁ Fixed bug where the game would freeze if the player’s ammo count was greater than 999
⦁ Fixed the attack speed of shotgun guys not being consistently doubled in nightmare mode
⦁ PWM frequency increased from 30Hz to 70Hz, reducing the maximum latency for in-game sounds from 33ms to 14ms
⦁ Some of the game’s assets received color restoration treatment
⦁ Improved rendering performance in high-resolution modes
⦁ The 320px mode screen size reduced from 184 to 180 pixels
⦁ Optimized maps loading time
⦁ Added support for custom finale text and background to the DMAPINFO lump

 

[JFD62780]

...I'm already seeing less detail in the map of E1M1...

Could the less detailed map(s) be a part of why the 2.1 patch is a tad smaller than 2.0?

 

[Barone]

14 hours ago, JFD62780 said:

...I'm already seeing less detail in the map of E1M1...

Could the less detailed map(s) be a part of why the 2.1 patch is a tad smaller than 2.0?

 

What?!?!?!

[Chilly Willy]

19 hours ago, JFD62780 said:

...I'm already seeing less detail in the map of E1M1...

Could the less detailed map(s) be a part of why the 2.1 patch is a tad smaller than 2.0?

 

No. There was no changes made to the level layout or details. If you can find any differences between 2.0 and 2.1 and screenshot them, that would be helpful.

[Rick Dangerous]

Has anyone made a Universal Game Case art insert for this game yet? 

 

Since an official release probably isn't happening i'd like to have a reproduction made for personal use.  SO GOOD!!!

[Chilly Willy]

https://imgur.com/a/bOfi9Xx

 

comes from a post on DoomWorld in the D32XR thread:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/post/2410505

 

Someone made a cart, posted here:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/post/2489933

 

We're close to another release. Among many bug-fixes and minor optimizations, we've added back the screen melt.

 

[Koopa64]

I made this, feel free to use it

Edited January 12, 2023 by Koopa64

[Chilly Willy]

Very nice! 🤩

[eightbit]

Wow, where have I been during all of this?

 

Sorry to bump an old thread but this deserves it. I recently acquired a 32X (that needed a slight repair as always) and I got around to checking v2.2 of Resurrection this evening. Holy crap. This is now my go to console Doom port. Had this been the version that was released back then things may have been different.

 

I hope to see other cool 32X projects in the future like this.